Caroline?

Discovering "Caroline?" in a flea market video stall bin for a buck and being less than curious by its uninspired packaging, this video seemed doomed for re-recording. Having missed its original airing on NBC in 1990 I was completely unprepared for the luminous screenplay of this partial thriller/part human-interest tale of a young girl who claims to be the daughter of a wealthy Atlanta businessman who had allegedly been killed in a plane crash 15 year prior. What unfolds is an exciting, tautly directed (emmy winner Joseph Sargent) and uniformly brilliant performances by a beautifully cast emsemble. Pamela Reed, as the businessman's second wife (consistently great and underappreciated George Grizzard) delivers a masterpiece of character- a complex woman of cruelty, compassion and fear. Reed is stunning! Ditto Stephanie Zimbalist, heretofore taken for granted as a flavor-of-the-month is astoundingly smart and a real revelation in her only decent non-tv series role of her career. What a shame. The children are a joy, especially 15-year old Shawn Phelan playing a spoiled but delightfully dutiful son . What a horrific tragedy to discover his godawful death in 1997 in an auto accident. It puts a damper on this thrilling achievement. "Caroline?" is a sleeper and a gem and has the guts to abandon its mystery plot pretense to reveal a wonderful tale of philanthropy. Ms. McGuire and Ms. Neal add another dose of class in critical cameos. Easily Hallmark's best and bravest production of the '90's. Jake

The best made for television film ever. A story that will stay with you forever. A pitch perfect cast brings this great story to life. Stephanie Zimbalist is a revelation. What a shame that she left the world of film for theater.Shawn Phelan is great as her young "brother". Had he not died so young he would have had a great career in films. The movie also benefits from the presence of the great character actor George Grizzard. While the cast is wonderful it is the story so original, so engrossing, so haunting. If you get the chance to see this film don't miss it. While it is made for T.V. it is better than most theatrical releases.

This was one of the best TV movies ever produced. A very compelling story about a young woman who comes back home after an absence of many years. The question is, is she or isn't she?

This film turns out to be about a lot more than an identity question. The young woman, who may or may not be Caroline, becomes involved with her physically challenged half-sister, her brother, and the stepmother that keeps the little girl a baby. Whoever Caroline is, she changes this family in profound ways.

The ending, as well as the revelations about Caroline, is wonderful and positively transcendent.

I highly recommend this film to anyone. It sports a wonderful cast, including Stephanie Zimbalist, Pamela Reed, and George Grizzard. It will both touch you and intrigue you.

Caroline? a made-for-TV movie based on the E.L. Konigsburg novel (teleplay by Michael DeGuzman) is a superior movie of the highest order. Being part mystery, part topical storytelling, it takes the viewer into the lives of a well to do family with a few skeletons. Seemingly Caroline Carmichael dies in a plane accident 15 years ago, or did she? Her father believes the girl claiming to be her, or does he? Now you won't guess why she's come back, or will you? Deftly played by Stephanie Zimbalist, Caroline is much richer in spirit than the old Caroline seemed to be. Caroline returns just before the deadline to claim her Grandmother Adkins inheritance. This is a matter of consternation for her father's younger wife. Caroline returns to find she has a half brother and sister and a suspicious stepmother. George Grizzard, Pamela Reed, the late Shawn Phelan and Jenny Jacobs play her present family. As Caroline becomes involved in the lives of the Carmichaels she learns family secrets galore. Rounding out the wonderful cast are the great Patricia Neal, the phenomenal Dorothy McGuire and Mary Nell Santacroce. To tell more would be scandalous. This was originally shown on CBS television in 1990 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation. By the way, this won an Emmy for Best Television Movie or Special. When you need an inspirational movie to get you through the day, put this in your VCR, you won't be disappointed. Still not on DVD, but is on Prime Video.

I thought the above commentary was unduly harsh. To be fair I have the book in my more recent memory, but I remember the story dealing with a very complex set of ideas in a way that children could understand. [Granting the the movie was only billed as being family friendly, while the book was expressly aimed for young adults.] It wasn't supposed to be a surprise whether or not this woman was really their older half sister. The important thing was the realization that it really did not matter. A strange woman comes to a wounded family and presents herself as a part of it. She then proceeds to fix many of the problems that plague it- she literally saves the children. The boy is rescued from isolation and the girl from a life somewhere between a pet and an embarrassment.

There are some things I might be filling in from the book, but I don't remember finding the movie lacking. I was even motivated to keep an eye out for Father's Archane Daughter to read it. Some minor changes or things left unsaid were inevitable- Caroline disappearing in a plane crash instead of a kidnapping, the younger children's mother's emotional distance, the full role of of Caroline's old headmistress- etc. The only thing I can think of that was wholely snipped was the interesting relationship between the father and Caroline. They probably thought they could not do it justice so they thought it better to leave it out. Plenty of movies have suffered from the unwillingness to make that sort of decision.

On the whole I recommend the movie, and I truly recommend the book (along with everything else if E. L Konigsberg I have gotten around to reading- I think she just collects Newberys)